Wearing apparel



I May 23, 1939. l, c, ALLEN WEARING APPAREL Filed Feb. 3, 1938 INVENTOR @a bf/W? /9//6/7.

Patented May 23, 1939 UNITED STATES PATE-NT OFFICE WEARING APPAREL Inga Carien Allen, Wilkinsburg, Ps. Application February 3, 1938, Serial No. 188.477

1 Chim` This invention relates to leggings for protecting the leg of th wearer from rain, accidental splashing, wind and cold, and is particularly applicable for wear by women.

6 It is an object of my invention to provide a legging which 1`s waterproof to the extent that it will protect the leg and foot of the wearer against rain or splashing, is sightly when worn. and which is exceedingly thin so that it can be folded compactly and canied about without inconvenience and will be available for emergency use.

A further object is the provision of a legging of thin, transparent, waterproof material which 15 provides an insulating layer of air between the legging and the leg of the wearer to protect the wearer against cold, and which is adequately ventilated to prevent condensation of moisture' therein.

therewith to provide an insulating layer of air between the legging and leg.

A further object is the provision of a legging of thin, transparent, waterproof material having an elastic band at the top which supports the legging on the leg of the wearer and which holds the legging in folds tov keep it substantially out of close contact with the leg'of the wearer.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the annexed drawing, wherein I have shown preferred embodiments of my invention by way of example and wherein:

Figure 1 shows the leg of the wearer,

Figures 2, 3 and 4 show respectively the development'of the front outside, inside and rear outside sections respectively of the legging before being assembled,

Figure 5 shows the auxiliary fastening means at the top,

Figure 6 is a section Figure l, showing the slide fastener tape,

Figure 7 is a section on line VII-VII of Figure 1, showing the manner of finishing the top corners,

Figure 8 is a section on line VIII-VIII of Figure 1, showing the manner of finishing the bot- 55 tom edge and securmg the heel strap,

legging appiied'to the left taken on line VI--VI of manner of securing the l' one straight edge 8 and Figure 9 is a fragmentary view showing a modiiied top construction,

Figure 10 is a section taken on line X-X oi' Figure 9,

Figure l1 shows a modified stitching for sew- 6 ing the legging sections together,

Figure l2 is a container for holding the legging, and

Figure 13 isa modification illustrating a ventilating means.

Referring to the drawing, the legging is made up of an inside piece I, the longitudinal edges 2 and 3 of which are curved, a front outside piece l having one substantially straight edge 5 and a curved edge 6, and a rear outsidev piece I having 5 a curved edge l. The sections I, 4 andv 1 preferably are made of oiled silk which is pliable, transparent and waterproof. However, any other suitable transparent waterproof material, such as balloon silk, Cellophane. or the like, may be employed. If desired, the material may be colored as well as transparent. Slits I0 are provided adjacent the top, and the legging sections are assembled by securing together the edges 6 and 2 and edges 3 and 8,' by sewing, by adhesive; or in any other suitable manner, to form any desired type of seam. The bottom of the legging is formed so as to have a heel covering portion I I and an instep covering portion I2, the end of the instep covering portion being preferably angular as indicated at I3, to have it conform better and lie more4 smoothly on Ythe instep of the wearer and vamp of the shoe. Preferably the bottom edge I4 of the legging is reinforced by a woven tape I5 which is folded 35 over the edge I4 and sewed by stitches i6 (Fig- `ure 8) so as to protect the raw edge against tearing or being pulled out of shape. A strip of fabric or tape I'I is sewed by stitches I8 to the heel covering portion on inside section l and 40 outside section 1 and serves as a. heel strap passing under the shank I9 of the shoe to hold the legging in close contact with the counter of the shoe. If desired, this heel strap Il may be made is made of material that cleaned, strap I'l preferably is oiled silk so that it will not absorb water and will not become easily soiled.

The vertical margins of the legging preferably are secured in closed position by completely separable slide fasteners which are commercimly available mounted on tapes. When the oiled silk used for the legging is clear, white slide fasteners preferably are employed. However, with colored materials, correspondingly colored slide fasteners may be used. The tape 2| of one fastener 22 is secured to the straight longitudinal edge 5 of the front section preferably by doubling the silk near the edge as indicated at 23 (Figure 6) and bringing the loose end of the silk around to the other side of the tape as indicated at 24, and passing stitches 25 through the tape and the three thicknesses of silk. Preferably one edge 26 is left as a flap to underlie the slide fasytener to protect vthe stocking against snagging by the metal of the fastener, the ap being' used only on one of the fastener tapes.

` this flap may be doubled back with the raw edge 5 turned -under so that it will be caught by the stitches 25. The flap is made wide enough to prevent being caught by the hand grip 30 of the slide fastener. The other tape 21 of the fastener strip 28 preferably is secured in a similar manner with the raw edge of the silk turned under, but the flap in this case may be omitted. The lower corners are finished by sewing the bottom tape I5 over the slide fastener tape. e

The upper edge 28 of the assembled legging is turned over a strip of elastic material 3| (Figure 7) andl sewed at 32 with the raw edge 29 turned under. Any suitable elastic material, such as 'a fabric having a warpof rubberbands may bel used. Preferably the band 3| is shorter than the top circumference of the legging and is stretched to the circumference of the legging and sewed while thus tensioned. The tension on the elastic: bandl then is removed so that it returns to its normal length and thus gathers the'top of the legging. It will be understood that the legging is made of sufficient circumference'at the top so that even when the elastic band is stretched, as in wearing, the legging will be gathered at the top as indicated at 33 and held substantially out of close contact with the leg of the wearer. The folds at the top of the legging assist in holding the sillgfout of contact with the leg of the wearer an /tlie slits I0 at the top provide ventilation to event condensation of moisture within the legging. 'These slits preferably are` located.' above the dress line and in the folds of the' legging adjacent the top band, so that the folds of thelegging keep the slits gaping to improve the ventilation. This construction has the advantage that the slide fastener tapes are covered by waterproof material and thus will not become wet when the legging is worn'.

A hook 35. (Pfgure 5) is secured adjacent one end 36 of the ,4t/op elastic band 3| and an eye '31 lis sewed to the other end 38 of band 3|, the end 33 being allowed to extendv far renough to protectv the stocking of the wearer from contact with the hook 35. Y

It will be understood that the legging for Vthe right leg is constructed exactly like that for the Y left leg, with the slide fastener on the outside.

The legging is appliedjby first inserting the heel in the heel strap l1, securing'the hook 35 in the eye 31 at the top, then pulling up the slide fastener by the grip 30 to the top. The seams between the sections of the legging occur at the front and back, and the slide fastener tapes are substantially straight and vertical and do not tend to pull the legging out of shape. Although the legging is loosely fitting it is not unsightly because the outline of the leg visible therethrough predominates.

Ventilation is improved by havingthe legging lie If desired,.

loosely over the vamp of the shoe. Preferably it is held tightly over the counter of the shoe, at which point the most splashing generally occurs.

In the preferred construction shown, the legging is of continuous waterproof transparent material, there being no elastic or textile material be-4 tween the sections which allows water to soak through. All parts of the legging are waterproof excepting for a very small portion of the slide fastener tape, Iwhich, however, has a flap of oiled` silk underneathl so .water cannot penetrate to the Vleg of the wearer. Consequently the legging can be wiped dry after use, or can be hung up to dry by evaporation.V 'Ihe legging has no bulky parts and can be folded and placed in a bag 40 of waterproof material such as oiled silk, especiaily when it is wet after use, tied in by the tapes provided,Y and carried in a womans purse avallable for emergency wear. The bag 40 need not be larger than about three by four inches and, after being tied and folded over with a pair of leggings therein, does'not occupy more thanabout three by two and ahalf inches, and is about one inch thick at the vthickest portion of the package.

In a modication, the bottom of the legging may be finished byffolding the silk overa strip of tape, tucking under the raw edge, and stitching the parts together substantially as shown' in Figure '7, the tape preferably being non-elastic. This construction has the advantage that the edge is reinforced and no part of the tape is exposed and therefore the tape cannot become wet.

In a further modification (Figure 10) an elastic band His secured-tov the top by folding a band 42 of tape over the upper vedge 29 of the.; legging, interposing the elastic band Il in stretch` ed `Acondition between the tape and silk, and sewing the parts together', the stiches M 'passing through the silk, elastic band and tape. The tension on the band then'is removed so that the legging is gathered at the top. 'Ihe legging is made sufficiently wide at the top so that the gathered portioneis held substantially out of close contact with the leg. 'I'his construction lhas the advantage that the silk passing around the band at the top is prevented from contacting the leg of the wearer.

In Figure 1l I have shown a'type of stitch. i

known as the Merrow stitch which maybe used lfor sewing together the sections oi'y the legging,

if desired. In Figure 13 I have shown punched holes 46 instead of slits for ventilation, the holes preferably being in the gathered portion of the legging.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. i l

I claim as my invention: A legging of'thin transparent waterproof sheet material shaped to generally conform to the leg y of the wearer and adapted when worn to conform loosely to the leg of the wearer, an elastic member gathering the legging at the top to support the upper margin on the leg of the wearer, apertures in said legging below the top, and a lower portion adapted to overlie the vamp and counter of the v shoe of the wearer, said lower portion providing a loose fit to allow circulation of air through the legging whereby condensation within the legging is substantially prevented. l

lmail CARLEN ALLEN. 

